Book of Assurance
by thestralrose182
Summary: The Weasleys are extremely worried about Ron, Harry, and Hermione after their escape from Bill and Fleur's wedding. Joined by Remus and Tonks, they read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows together.
1. A Place to Hide

The red-haired matron sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the name of her youngest son on her clock. It wasn't very helpful, seeing as all members of the Weasley family were pointed at "Mortal Peril". Molly Weasley buried her face into her hands, sighing loudly. Her babies (she was past the point of thinking of Harry and Hermione as guests in her family) were gone and she, along with anyone, had no idea where they were or where they were going after they had escaped from Bill and Fleur's wedding. She had already interrogated Ginny, who she thought may have an idea, but she wasn't able to give her a suitable answer. Speaking of Ginny, her youngest child and only daughter entered the kitchen, looking equally as unhappy as Mrs. Weasley felt.

"Ginny, dear, I'm going to start supper in a minute. Could you please set the table?" said Mrs. Weasley, trying to distract her daughter from the uncertainty of their situation.

Ginny groaned loudly and flopped herself onto the couch in the living room, burrowing her face into a pillow.

"There's no point. No one here is hungry, anyway, Mum," she said.

"I'm sure Fred and George would disagree," she replied, thinking of her twin sons' reactions if she just cancelled supper and cringing. She began preparing their meal, quickly gathering ingredients into a pan.

After a while, said twins appeared down the staircase and Mrs. Weasley couldn't stop herself from staring into the gaping hole on George's head, where his ear had been cursed off forever. She instantly pushed the thought from her head and tried to return to normalcy-as much as she possibly could.

"Boys, please wash up, supper will be ready soon."

They, rather uncharacteristically, complied. Mrs. Weasley stared at their retreating backs in shock. Never before had they simply done as she had asked without comment or some kind of attempted joke. This lack of humor impacted her in a way that she would have never anticipated.

"Okay, that's it! Everyone in the living room, now," commanded Mrs. Weasley, "Arthur, could you please come down here! Bring Bill and Fleur," she called up the long, twisting staircase.

The broken family assembled in the living room, taking seats in the comfortable furniture. The absence of many family members was heavy on the tension in the room. Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat, suddenly unsure of herself.

"I know that Ron, Hermione and Harry have disappeared and I know that we had a rough time with the Ministry yesterday, but we can't just sit here and mope, all of you. We are going to continue on as normally and keep positive thoughts for whatever it is those three are up to. You all hear me loud and clear?" Mrs. Weasley said, almost glaring at her family members.

The twins sat up straight and mock-saluted her, "Crystal clear!" they chanted in unison. Ginny simply remained buried into the couch and pillows, not moving. Arthur smiled at his wife, though his worry was still visible in his face. Bill gripped Fleur's hand,

"Alright, Mum," he said, "but it's just hard knowing that they are out there, barely of age, facing who knows what."

A large crash made all of them draw their wands and stand up, even Ginny who had appeared immobile and unresponsive was on her feet.

"What the bloody hell was that?" said Bill.

He and Arthur headed to the front door, where the noise occurred, walking around cautiously. Seeing nothing, Arthur opened the front door, wand out.

"That's odd...it's a book," he said. He cast several detection spells on the object, but received no threatening results. He picked it up and locked the door behind him.

"Why would someone throw a book at our front door? How did they get inside the wards?" Mrs. Weasley said, worryingly glancing at the object in her husband's hand. She noticed that Ginny was looking at the book with a look of distrust on her face.

"Maybe they just have-

-an extraordinarily good arm?" the twins asked innocently, smiling.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, what do you all think about that?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"No clue," Ginny whispered.

Mr. Weasley opened the front cover nervously and pulled out a letter.

_Dear Weasley family:_

_Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt pretty bad about leaving you all with nothing so they decided to have me send this book to assure you all that they're (relatively) alright on their journey. They want you to read this, unfortunately, no event can be changed, for that would completely shatter the space-time continuum and we seriously can't have that. This book is from Harry's point of view, which he isn't very happy about, but it's the best way for you all to truly understand what they went through this year. _

_They ask that you invite Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin to join you in the reading. If my estimations are correct, they should be at your door any second. _

_Oh, time hasn't really stopped while you read, it's just going rather slowly. You don't really have to worry about anything, like work or any other obligations. _

_A friend. _

The Weasleys all jumped as they heard a knocking on their door. Mr. Weasley opened the door and pointed his wand at Remus and Tonks and, after checking that they weren't impostors, let them in.

"I guess we don't have to explain anything, then?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Our letters are the same, so, no," said Tonks, inspecting both letters.

"Alrighty then, let's see what little Harrykinz thinks about, shall we?" Fred said, reaching for the book, "I'll read first. I suppose it makes sense to just go around the furniture then?"

"Sounds good, Fred," Bill said.

"Well, here we go: A Place to Hide," he read, "Oh, this is still at the wedding. So this is them leaving."

**Everything seemed fuzzy, slow. Harry and Hermione jumped to** **their feet and drew their wands. Many people were only just realizing** **that something strange had happened; heads were still turning** **toward the silver cat as it vanished. Silence spread outward in cold ripples** **from the place where the Patronus had landed. Then somebody screamed.**

"Sorry," Fleur blushed, "that was me." (A/N: I'm not even going to attempt to do Fleur's accent, or any on that note.)

Bill took her hand again, "Completely understandable," he said.

"Well," she sighed, "at least they hadn't interrupted the actual ceremony."

**Harry and Hermione threw themselves into the panicking crowd. Guests** **were sprinting in all directions; many were Disapparating; the protective** **enchantments around the Burrow had broken.**

"**Ron!" Hermione cried. "Ron, where are you?"**

"Oh no," Mrs. Weasley gasped.

**As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Harry saw cloaked and** **masked figures appearing in the crowd; then he saw Lupin and Tonks, their** **wands raised, and heard both of them shout, "Protego!", a cry that was echoed** **on all sides—**

"**Ron! Ron!" Hermione called, half sobbing as she and Harry were buffered** **by terrified guests: Harry seized her hand to make sure they weren't separated** **as a streak of light whizzed over their heads, whether a protective charm or** **something more sinister he did not know—**

**And then Ron was there. He caught hold of Hermione's free arm, and** **Harry felt her turn on the spot; sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon him; all he could feel was Hermione's hand as he was** **squeezed through space and time, away from the Burrow, away from the** **descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself. . . .**

The whole room shuddered at that thought.

"**Where are we?" said Ron's voice.**

**Harry opened his eyes. For a moment he thought they had not left the** **wedding after all; they still seemed to be surrounded by people.**

"**Tottenham Court Road," panted Hermione. "Walk, just walk, we need to** **find somewhere for you to change."**

"She's smart, taking them to the muggle world," Remus commented, "Harry won't be in as much danger there."

**Harry did as she asked. They half walked, half ran up the wide dark street** **thronged with late-night revelers and lined with closed shops, stars twinkling** **above them. A double-decker bus rumbled by and a group of merry pub-goers** **ogled them as they passed; Harry and Ron were still wearing dress robes.**

"**Hermione, we haven't got anything to change into," Ron told her, as a young** **woman burst into raucous giggles at the sight of him.**

"**Why didn't I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?" said Harry,** **inwardly cursing his own stupidity. "All last year I kept it on me and—"**

"WHAT?" George exclaimed.

"So not fair!" Fred pouted, "Georgie, imagine all the things we could have pulled off if he'd just let us borrow that."

The twins looked up, as if picturing all the mischief they could have.

"Thank goodness Harry had the sense to keep it to himself then," Ginny laughed.

"Hey!" they said in mock offense.

"**It's okay, I've got the Cloak, I've got clothes for both of you," said Hermione,** "**just try and act naturally until—this will do." She led them down a side street,** **then into the shelter of a shadowy alleyway.**

"**When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes . . . " said Harry, frowning** **at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in** **which she was now rummaging.**

"**Yes, they're here," said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment,** **she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and** **finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak.**

"**How the ruddy hell—?"**

"**Undetectable Extension Charm," said Hermione. "Tricky, but I think I've** **done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here." She gave** **the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number** **of heavy objects rolled around inside it. "Oh, damn, that'll be the books," she** **said, peering into it, "and I had them all stacked by subject. . . . Oh well . . . .** **Harry, you'd better take the Invisibility Cloak. Ron, hurry up and change . . . . "**

"**When did you do all this?" Harry asked as Ron stripped off his robes.**

"They change in front of each other?!" Mrs. Weasley said, outraged.

"Keep your hair on, lady, they're basically one person anyway," Fred said.

"Don't disrespect your mother," Mr. Weasley warned.

"**I told you at the Burrow, I've had the essentials packed for days, you know,** **in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I packed your rucksack this morning,** **Harry, after you changed, and put it in here . . . . I just had a feeling . . . .** "

"**You're amazing, you are," said Ron, handing her his bundled-up robes.**

"Aww, Ronniekinz," the twins cooed.

"**Thank you," said Hermione, managing a small smile as she pushed the** **robes into the bag. "Please, Harry, get that Cloak on!"**

**Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up** **over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate** **what had happened.**

"**The others—everybody at the wedding—"**

"**We can't worry about that now," whispered Hermione. "It's you they're** **after, Harry, and we'll just put everyone in even more danger by going back."**

"**She's right," said Ron, who seemed to know that Harry was about to argue,** **even if he could not see his face. "Most of the Order was there, they'll look** **after everyone." Harry nodded, then remembered that they could not see him,** **and said, "Yeah." But he thought of Ginny, and fear bubbled like acid in his** **stomach.**

"**Come on, I think we ought to keep moving," said Hermione.**

Remus nodded, agreeing with the young witch.

"She really knows her stuff," Tonks said.

**They moved back up the side street and onto the main road again, where** **a group of men on the opposite side was singing and weaving across the pavement.**

"**Just as a matter of interest, why Tottenham Court Road?" Ron asked** **Hermione.**

"**I've no idea, it just popped into my head, but I'm sure we're safer out in the** **Muggle world, it's not where they'll expect us to be."**

"**True," said Ron, looking around, "but don't you feel a bit—exposed?"**

"**Where else is there?" asked Hermione, cringing as the men on the other** **side of the road started wolf-whistling at her. "We can hardly book rooms at** **the Leaky Cauldron, can we? And Grimmauld Place is out if Snape can get in** **there . . . .**

**I suppose we could try my parents' home, though I think there's a** **chance they might check there. . . . Oh, I wish they'd shut up!"**

"**All right, darling?" the drunkest of the men on the other pavement was** **yelling. "Fancy a drink? Ditch ginger and come and have a pint!"**

"So disrespectful! Those disgusting pigs!" Ginny said, "I can't stand for guys like that. Sexist rotten pigs."

Fleur nodded in agreement, having received many calls like that in her life.

At her parents' glance, she assured them, "Don't worry, no one gets away with that from me."

The twins winced, picturing her famous Bat-Bogey hex.

"**Let's sit down somewhere," Hermione said hastily as Ron opened his mouth** **to shout back across the road. "Look, this will do, in here!"**

**It was a small and shabby all-night café. A light layer of grease lay on all the** **Formica-topped tables, but it was at least empty. Harry slipped into a booth** **first and Ron sat next to him opposite Hermione, who had her back to the** **entrance and did not like it: She glanced over her shoulder so frequently she** **appeared to have a twitch. Harry did not like being stationary; walking had** **given the illusion that they had a goal. Beneath the Cloak he could feel the last** **vestiges of Polyjuice leaving him, his hands returning to their usual length and** **shape. He pulled his glasses out of his pocket and put them on again.**

**After a minute or two, Ron said, "You know, we're not far from the Leaky** **Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross—"**

"**Ron, we can't!" said Hermione at once.**

"**Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!"**

"**We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else** **do we need to know?"**

"Ah, no, Hermione, shut up!" Remus cried.

"**Okay, okay, it was just an idea!"**

**They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled** **over and Hermione ordered two cappuccinos: As Harry was invisible, it would** **have looked odd to order him one. A pair of burly workmen entered the café and** **squeezed into the next booth. Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper.**

"**I say we find a quiet place to Disapparate and head for the countryside.** **Once we're there, we could send a message to the Order."**

"**Can you do that talking Patronus thing, then?" asked Ron.**

"**I've been practicing and I think so," said Hermione.**

"**Well, as long as it doesn't get them into trouble, though they might've been** **arrested already. God, that's revolting," Ron added after one sip of the foamy,** **grayish coffee. The waitress had heard; she shot Ron a nasty look as she shuffled** **off to take the new customers' orders. The larger of the two workmen, who** **was blond and quite huge, now that Harry came to look at him, waved her** **away. She stared, affronted.**

"**Let's get going, then, I don't want to drink this muck," said Ron. "Hermione,** **have you got Muggle money to pay for this?"**

"**Yes, I took out all my Building Society savings before I came to the Burrow.** **I'll bet all the change is at the bottom," sighed Hermione, reaching for her** **beaded bag.**

"I wonder how much that is," Mr. Weasley said, looking interested.

"A lot. Basically everything she's ever saved," Ginny said, remembering how emotional Hermione had been when she'd told her everything she'd done at home to prepare for their journey. Especially her parents.

**The two workmen made identical movements, and Harry mirrored them** **without conscious thought: All three of them drew their wands. Ron, a few** **seconds late in realizing what was going on, lunged across the table, pushing** **Hermione sideways onto her bench. The force of the Death Eaters' spells shattered** **the tiled wall where Ron's head had just been, as Harry, still invisible,** **yelled, "Stupefy!"**

"Oh no, how did they find them?" Bill yelled.

**The great blond Death Eater was hit in the face by a jet of red light: He** **slumped sideways, unconscious. His companion, unable to see who had cast** **the spell, fired another at Ron: Shining black ropes flew from his wand-tip and** **bound Ron head to foot—the waitress screamed and ran for the door—Harry** **sent another Stunning Spell at the Death Eater with the twisted face who** **had tied up Ron, but the spell missed, rebounded on the window, and hit the** **waitress, who collapsed in front of the door.**

"**Expulso!" bellowed the Death Eater, and the table behind which Harry was** **standing blew up: The force of the explosion slammed him into the wall and he** **felt his wand leave his hand as the Cloak slipped off him.**

"**Petrificus Totalus!" screamed Hermione from out of sight, and the Death** **Eater fell forward like a statue to land with a crunching thud on the mess of** **broken china, table, and coffee. Hermione crawled out from underneath the** **bench, shaking bits of glass ashtray out of her hair and trembling all over.**

"**D-diffindo," she said, pointing her wand at Ron, who roared in pain as she** **slashed open the knee of his jeans, leaving a deep cut. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ron,** **my hand's shaking! Diffindo!"**

"She needs to relax," Remus said.

"Easier said than done," Fleur muttered, thinking of the Triwizard Tournament.

**The severed ropes fell away. Ron got to his feet, shaking his arms to regain** **feeling in them. Harry picked up his wand and climbed over all the debris to** **where the large blond Death Eater was sprawled across the bench.**

"**I should've recognized him, he was there the night Dumbledore died," he** **said. He turned over the darker Death Eater with his foot; the man's eyes** **moved rapidly between Harry, Ron and Hermione.**

"**That's Dolohov," said Ron. "I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I** **think the big one's Thorfinn Rowle."**

"**Never mind what they're called!" said Hermione a little hysterically. "How** **did they find us? What are we going to do?"**

**Somehow her panic seemed to clear Harry's head.**

"Harrykinz is weird," Fred commented lightly.

"Harry only knows how to deal with emergency situation since his whole life has been an emergency situation," George said.

The comedic effect didn't really work on anyone, seeing how the statement was fairly accurate.

"**Lock the door," he told her, "and Ron, turn out the lights."**

**He looked down at the paralyzed Dolohov, thinking fast as the lock clicked** **and Ron used the Deluminator to plunge the café into darkness. Harry could** **hear the men who had jeered at Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the** **distance.**

"**What are we going to do with them?" Ron whispered to Harry through the** **dark; then, even more quietly, "Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go** **just now."**

"Oh my god, Ron!" Mrs. Weasley said, horrified.

"This is war, Molly. War isn't...clean." Remus said, wincing at his poor word choice.

Molly burst into tears, "I'm sorry-they're just- so-young," she gasped.

Arthur wrapped his arms around her. All the kids looked at each other, knowing how much they all hated seeing their mother upset.

**Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head.**

"**We just need to wipe their memories," said Harry. "It's better like that, it'll** **throw them off the scent. If we killed them it'd be obvious we were here."**

"He's so kind, even to people who try to kill him," Tonks said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Harry's a good kid," said Bill.

"Good kid, bad life," Fred said.

"**You're the boss," said Ron, sounding profoundly relieved. "But I've never** **down a Memory Charm."**

"**Nor have I," said Hermione, "but I know the theory."**

**She took a deep, calming breath, then pointed her wand at Dolohov's forehead** **and said, "Obliviate."**

**At once, Dolohov's eyes became unfocused and dreamy.**

"**Brilliant!" said Harry, clapping her on the back. "Take care of the other** **one and the waitress while Ron and I clear up."**

"**Clear up?" said Ron, looking around at the partly destroyed café. "Why?"**

"**Don't you think they might wonder what's happened if they wake up and** **find themselves in a place that looks like it's just been bombed?"**

"**Oh right, yeah . . . "**

"Anything to get out of cleaning, huh, Ronniekinz," Ginny teased, causing the twins to laugh.

**Ron struggled for a moment before managing to extract his wand from his** **pocket.**

"**It's no wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're** **tight."**

"**Oh, I'm so sorry," hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out** **of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron** **could stick his wand instead.**

"HERMIONE GRANGER!" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

The twins were roaring with laughter and Ginny giggled, having already been exposed to Hermione's sense of humor towards her older brother.

"Ease up, Mum, she's only kidding," Bill laughed, "Lord knows they need some laughter."

**Once the café was restored to its previous condition, they heaved the Death** **Eaters back into their booth and propped them up facing each other.**

"**But how did they find us?" Hermione asked, looking from one inert man to** **the other. "How did they know where we were?"**

**She turned to Harry.**

"**You—you don't think you've still got your Trace on you, do you, Harry?"**

"No that's impossible!" Remus shook his head.

"Well, the Ministry is anti-Harry at the moment. Maybe they managed to put it back on him," Fleur said, frowning.

"I don't think a wizard can have the Trace on him after he's of age. There are spells against that, plus the internal magic would repel it. It must have been something else that caught the Death Eaters' attention."

"**He can't have," said Ron. "The Trace breaks at seventeen, that's Wizarding** **law, you can't put it on an adult."**

"**As far as you know," said Hermione. "What if the Death Eaters have found** **a way to put it on a seventeen-year-old?"**

"**But Harry hasn't been near a Death Eater in the last twenty-four hours.** **Who's supposed to have put a Trace back on him?"**

"You don't think someone put it on him at the wedding?" Fleur gasped, horrified at the thought of a secret Death Eater at her wedding.

"No, no, I don't think any Death Eaters were there. We checked pretty thoroughly." Mr. Weasley said.

"It's possible," Ginny said, darkly, which did not reassure Fleur.

**Hermione did not reply. Harry felt contaminated, tainted: Was that really** **how the Death Eaters had found them?**

"**If I can't use magic, and you can't use magic near me, without us giving** **away our position—" he began.**

"**We're not splitting up!" said Hermione firmly.**

"**We need a safe place to hide," said Ron. "Give us time to think things** **through."**

"**Grimmauld Place," said Harry.**

"Ah, Harry would want to go there," Remus sighed.

**The other two gaped.**

"**Don't be silly, Harry, Snape can get in there!"**

"**Ron's dad said they've put up jinxes against him—and even if they haven't** **worked," he pressed on as Hermione began to argue "so what? I swear, I'd like** **nothing better than to meet Snape!"**

"**But—"**

"**Hermione, where else is there? It's the best chance we've got. Snape's only** **one Death Eater. If I've still got the Trace on me, we'll have whole crowds of** **them on us wherever else we go."**

**She could not argue, though she looked as if she would have liked to. While** **she unlocked the café door, Ron clicked the Deluminator to release the café's** **light. Then, on Harry's count of three, they reversed the spells upon their** **three victims, and before the waitress or either of the Death Eaters could do** **more than stir sleepily, Harry, Ron and Hermione had turned on the spot and** **vanished into the compressing darkness once more.**

**Seconds later Harry's lungs expanded gratefully and he opened his eyes:** **They were now standing in the middle of a familiar small and shabby square.** **Tall, dilapidated houses looked down on them from every side. Number twelve** **was visible to them, for Dumbledore, its Secret-Keeper, had told them of its existence and they rushed toward it, checking every few yards that they** **were not being followed or observed. They raced up the stone steps, and Harry** **tapped the front door once with his wand. They heard a series of metallic** **clicks and the clatter of a chain, then the door swung open with a creak and** **they hurried over the threshold.**

**As Harry closed the door behind them, the old-fashioned gas lamps sprang** **into life, casting flickering light along the length of the hallway. It looked just** **as Harry remembered it: eerie, cobwebbed, the outlines of the house-elf heads** **on the wall throwing odd shadows up the staircase. Long dark curtains concealed** **the portrait of Sirius's mother. The only thing that was out of place was** **the troll's leg umbrella stand, which was lying on its side as if Tonks had just** **knocked it over again.**

"**I think somebody's been in here," Hermione whispered, pointing toward it.**

"**That could've happened as the Order left," Ron murmured back.**

"**So where are these jinxes they put up against Snape?" Harry asked.**

"**Maybe they're only activated if he shows up?" suggested Ron.**

**Yet they remained close together on the doormat, backs against the door,** **scared to move farther into the house.**

"**Well, we can't stay here forever," said Harry, and he took a step forward.**

"**Severus Snape?"**

**Mad-Eye Moody's voice whispered out of the darkness, making all three of** **them jump back in fright. "We're not Snape!" croaked Harry, before something** **whooshed over him like cold air and his tongue curled backward on itself, making** **it impossible to speak. Before he had time to feel inside his mouth, however,** **his tongue had unraveled again.**

**The other two seemed to have experienced the same unpleasant sensation.** **Ron was making retching noises; Hermione stammered, "That m-must have** **b-been the T-Tongue-Tying Curse Mad-Eye set up for Snape!"**

**Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows** **at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a** **figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dust-colored, and terrible; Hermione** **screamed and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was** **gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming** **behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets: Horribly familiar,** **dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry.**

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ginny and the twins yelled.

"I can't even think about that. That's disgusting," Fleur said, turning her nose up.

"Mad-Eye.." Tonks whispered, missing her close friend.

"I miss him, too," said Bill.

"**No!" Harry shouted, and though he had raised his wand no spell occurred** **to him. "No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you—"**

**On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, his** **eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by** **the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head** **to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, "It's all r-right. . . . It's** **g-gone. . . . " Dust swirled around Harry like mist, catching the blue gaslight,** **as Mrs. Black continued to scream.**

"**Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my** **fathers—"**

"**SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed, directing his wand at her, and with a bang** **and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her.**

"**That . . . that was . . . " Hermione whimpered, as Ron helped her to her feet.**

"**Yeah," said Harry, "but it wasn't really him, was it? Just something to scare** **Snape."**

**Had it worked, Harry wondered, or had Snape already blasted the horror figure** **aside as casually as he had killed the real Dumbledore? Nerves still** **tingling, he led the other two up the hall, half-expecting some new terror to** **reveal itself, but nothing moved except for a mouse skittering along the skirting** **board.**

"**Before we go any farther, I think we'd better check," whispered Hermione,** **and she raised her wand and said, "Homenum revelio."**

**Nothing happened.**

"Thank goodness," muttered Mrs. Weasley

"**Well, you've just had a big shock," said Ron kindly. "What was that supposed** **to do?"**

"Ron, c'mon son!" George said, face-palming.

"**It did what I meant it to do!" said Hermione rather crossly. "That was a** **spell to reveal human presence, and there's nobody here except us!"**

"**And old Dusty," said Ron, glancing at the patch of carpet from which the** **corpse-figure had risen.**

"**Let's go up," said Hermione with a frightened look at the same spot, and** **she led the way up the creaking stairs to the drawing room on the first floor.**

**Hermione waved her wand to ignite the old gas lamps, then, shivering slightly** **in the drafty room, she perched on the sofa, her arms wrapped tightly around** **her. Ron crossed to the window and moved the heavy velvet curtains aside an** **inch.**

"**Can't see anyone out there," he reported. "And you'd think, if Harry still** **had a Trace on him, they'd have followed us here. I know they can't get in the** **house, but—what's up, Harry?"**

**Harry had given a cry of pain: His scar had burned against as something** **flashed across his mind like a bright light on water. He saw a large shadow** **and felt a fury that was not his own pound through his body, violent and brief** **as an electric shock.**

"Is he okay?" Mrs. Weasley said, instantly worrying about her honorary son.

"It happens a lot, Mum. He'll be okay," Ginny said.

"Yeah, Voldemort's just sending vision into his mind, no big deal," Remus muttered to himself bitterly. He did not like the connection between his pup and that monster.

"**What did you see?" Ron asked, advancing on Harry. "Did you see him at** **my place?"**

"**No, I just felt anger—he's really angry—"**

"**But that could be at the Burrow," said Ron loudly. "What else? Didn't you** **see anything? Was he cursing someone?"**

"**No, I just felt anger—I couldn't tell—"**

**Harry felt badgered, confused, and Hermione did not help as she said in** **a frightened voice, "Your scar, again? But what's going on? I thought that** **connection had closed!"**

"Hermione, shut up. Leave him alone for one minute, goddammit," Ginny said, unable to hide her frustration in her bushy haired friend. She was just too controlling sometimes.

"No, Hermione's right. Harry isn't supposed to see any visions. That was the whole point of him learning Occulmency," said Remus.

"Well, you can hear Harry's thoughts. It doesn't seem like he wants all that pain or to see and feel what Voldemort does," Ginny shot back.

"It doesn't matter! He must control his mind! That connection is dangerous, especially for his mental health."

"Are you saying that Harry's unstable?"

"No, no, but remember last time he believed a vision from Voldemort? Sirius ended up dying!"

"He also saved my father from dying of a snake bite!" Ginny said, the twins instantly nodding their heads in agreement.

"That was lucky, but Voldemort didn't know Harry was seeing that. He does now. It's no longer safe!"

Ginny crossed her arms and huffed, avoiding eye contact with her old professor. She still didn't agree with Hermione nagging and annoying Harry.

"**It did, for a while," muttered Harry; his scar was still painful, which made** **it hard to concentrate. "I-I think it's started opening again whenever he loses** **control, that's how it used to-"**

"**But then you've got to close your mind!" said Hermione shrilly. "Harry,** **Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it** **down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort** **can plant false images in your mind, remember—"**

**"Yeah, I do remember, thanks," said Harry through gritted teeth; he did not need Hermione to tell him that Voldemort had once used this same connection between them to lead him into a trap, nor that it had resulted in Sirius's death.**

**He wished that he had not told them what he had seen and felt;** **it made Voldemort more threatening, as though he were pressing against the** **window of the room, and still the pain in his scar was building and he fought** **it: It was like resisting the urge to be sick.**

**He turned his back on Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old** **tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry** **drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through** **the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it** **solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father. "Family safe,** **do not reply, we are being watched."**

**The Patronus dissolved into nothingness. Ron let out a noise between a** **whimper and a groan and dropped onto the sofa: Hermione joined him, gripping** **his arm. "They're all right, they're all right!" she whispered, and Ron half** **laughed and hugged her.**

"It's nice they got to know about us. Wish they could have sent us something back," Arthur said sadly.

"**Harry," he said over Hermione's shoulder, "I—"**

"**It's not a problem," said Harry, sickened by the pain in his head. "It's your** **family, 'course you were worried. I'd feel the same way." He thought of Ginny.** "**I do feel the same way."**

"Aww Hawwykinz hearts Ginnykinz," Fred cooed.

"His heart hearts her!" George said.

"They're in loooooooveeeee," they said.

"Oh, shut it, you two," Ginny blushed.

**The pain in his scar was reaching a peak, burning as it had back in the** **garden of the Burrow. Faintly he heard Hermione say "I don't want to be on my** **own. Could we use the sleeping bags I've brought and camp in here tonight?"** **He heard Ron agree. He could not fight the pain much longer. He had to** **succumb.**

"**Bathroom," he muttered, and he left the room as fast as he could without** **running. He barely made it: Bolting the door behind him with trembling hands,** **he grasped his pounding head and fell to the floor, then in an explosion of agony,** **he felt the rage that did not belong to him possess his soul, saw a long room lit** **only by firelight, and the giant blond Death Eater on the floor, screaming and** **writhing, and a slighter figure standing over him, wand outstretched, while** **Harry spoke in a high, cold, merciless voice.**

"**More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is** **not sure that he will forgive this time . . . . You called me back for this, to tell me** **that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our** **displeasure. . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!"**

**A log fell in the fire: Flames reared, their light darting across a terrified,** **pointed white face—with a sense of emerging from deep water, Harry drew** **heaving breaths and opened his eyes.**

"Those visions...they're horrible.." Mrs. Weasley said, unable to hide the horror from her voice, "He's too young for all this."

**He was spread-eagled on the cold black marble floor, his nose inches from** **one of the silver serpent tails that supported the large bathtub. He sat up.** **Malfoy's gaunt, petrified face seemed burned on the inside of his eyes. Harry** **felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Voldemort was now putting Draco.**

**There was a sharp rap on the door, and Harry jumped as Hermione's voice** **rang out.**

"**Harry, do you want your toothbrush? I've got it here."**

"**Yeah, great, thanks," he said, fighting to keep his voice casual as he stood** **up to let her in.**

"That's it!" Fred said, handing the book to George.

"Okay, next is: **Kreacher's Tale**"


	2. Kreacher's Tale

George took the book and read, "Kreacher's Tale."

"This ought to be good," Ginny said, frowning at the thought of that insane little elf.

**Harry woke early next morning, wrapped in a sleeping bag on the drawing room floor. **

"Oh, I do hope he was warm enough!" Mrs. Weasley said.

**A chink of sky was visible between the heavy curtains. It was the cool, clear blue of watered ink, somewhere between night and dawn, and everything was quiet except for Ron and Hermione's slow, deep breathing. Harry glanced over at the dark shapes they made on the floor beside him. Ron had had a fit of gallantry and insisted that Hermione sleep on the cushions from the sofa, so that her silhouette was raised above his. Her arm curved to the floor, her fingers inches from Ron's. Harry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely.**

"Are they finally together?" Fred whined.

"It's about damn time," George said, while Ginny nodded earnestly.

"I hope so," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at the thought of her little Ronnie marrying such a bright, beautiful witch like Hermione. She was basically family anyway.

**He looked up at the shadowy ceiling, the cobwebbed chandelier. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been standing in the sunlight at the entrance to the marquee, waiting to show in wedding guests. It seemed a lifetime away.**

"You're telling me," Ginny muttered sarcastically.

**What was going to happen now? He lay on the floor and he thought of the Horcruxes, of the daunting complex mission Dumbledore had left him…**

"Woah, woah, what's a Horcrux?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah, what's that?" the twins said, looking at Remus, Bill, or even Mr. Weasley.

"I've never heard of a Horcrux before..." said Bill, looking like he was trying hard to remember. Mr. Weasley shook his head, not familiar with the term.

Remus, on the other hand, had his face in his hands. While spending time with Sirius, he'd spent plenty of time in Grimmauld Place's library, where he'd been completely shocked at the level of dark books it contained. He'd come across a gruesome book describing how to make a Horcrux. He'd shut it and put it away, disgusted, and had put it away in his mind in an attempt to forget about it forever. How had it never occurred to him that Voldemort had survived with a Horcrux?

"I know what a Horcrux is. I can't believe I never thought that Voldemort had one," he said.

"What is it?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"It's one of the most dark deeds a wizard can do. A Horcrux is usually an inanimate object that a wizard can put a piece of his soul in. If his real body were to be killed, the soul in the object would live on. He'd be immortal."

Tonks gasped, "How do you make one?" she said, horrified.

"Kill. You have to take a life and that splits your soul," said Remus.

Mrs. Weasley sat, stunned at this new information. That's what those kids were up to, trying to destroy a piece of Voldemort's soul, on their own.

"How do you get rid of a Horcrux?" Ginny asked quietly.

"That's the difficult part. You can't just cast a quick 'Reducto' and be done with it. It needs something stronger, like Fiend Fire. Which is too dangerous to use, of course," Remus said, noticing the concerned glances Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had exchanged.

"I don't like this," Fleur said, turning her nose up at the thought of Voldemort's soul in several places.

**Dumbledore… The grief that had possessed him since Dumbledore's death felt different now. The accusations he had heard from Muriel at the wedding seemed to have nested in his brain like diseased things, infecting his memories of the wizard he had idolized. Could Dumbledore have let such things happen? Had he been like Dudley, content to watch neglect and abuse as long as it did not affect him?**

Mrs. Weasley huffed at the thought of one of the Dursleys. She disliked bad-mouthing them, but she could not stand those people.

**Could he have turned his back on a sister who was being imprisoned and hidden? Harry thought of Godric's Hollow, of graves Dumbledore had never mentioned there; he thought of mysterious objects left without explanation in Dumbledore's will, and resentment swelled in the darkness. Why hadn't Dumbledore told him? Why hadn't he explained? Had Dumbledore actually cared about Harry at all? Or had Harry been nothing more than a tool to be polished and honed, but not trusted, never confided in?**

"Don't think like that Harry-"

"Yeah, you're much more than a tool to be shined-"

"You're more like a trophy," Fred and George said, grinning.

**Harry could not stand lying there with nothing but bitter thoughts for company.**

"Thank goodness, that kid can seriously brood," Tonks said.

"He wouldn't be Harry if he wasn't brooding," Ginny said, smiling.

** Desperate for something to do, for distraction, he slipped out of his sleeping bag, picked up his wand, and crept out of the room.**

"How many bets Hermione will wake up and see he's not there and panic?" George said.

**On the landing he whispered, "Lumos," and started to climb the stairs by wand light. On the second landing was the bedroom in which he and Ron had slept last time they had been here; he glanced into it. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died? Harry's gaze wandered to the portrait that sometimes-contained Phineas Nigellus Black, Sirius's great-great grandfather, but it was empty, showing nothing but a stretch of muddy backdrop. Phineas Nigellus was evidently spending the night in the headmaster's study at Hogwarts. Harry continued up the stairs until he reached the topmost landing where there were only two doors. The one facing him bore a nameplate reading Sirius.**

**Harry had never entered his godfather's bedroom before.**

"That's odd. You'd think that Harry would've been in there before," Bill said.

"They didn't get nearly enough time together," Remus sighed, "whenever Sirius drank too much, he always talked about how he regretted not being able to spend more time with him. All the things he wished they could do, but couldn't due to being on the run. Sirius took a lot of guilt for not being able to take him anywhere or spoil him like he wanted to."

**He pushed open the door, holding his wand high to cast light as widely as possible. The room was spacious and must once have been handsome. There was a large bed with a carved wooden headboard, a tall window obscured by long velvet curtains and a chandelier thickly coated in dust with candle scrubs still resting in its sockets, solid wax banging in frostlike drips. A fine film of dust covered the pictures on the walls and the bed's headboard; a spiders web stretched between the chandelier and the top of the large wooden wardrobe, and as Harry moved deeper into the room, he head a scurrying of disturbed mice. The teenage Sirius had plastered the walls with so many posters and pictures that little of the wall's silvery-gray silk was visible. Harry could only assume that Sirius's parents had been unable to remove the Permanent Sticking Charm that kept them on the wall because he was sure they would not have appreciated their eldest son's taste in decoration.**

"That's for sure," Remus laughed.

"What? What's so funny?" Tonks asked.

"Oh, you'll see."

**Sirius seemed to have long gone out of his way to annoy his parents. There were several large Gryffindor banners; faded scarlet and gold just to underline his difference from all the rest of the Slytherin family. There were many pictures of Muggle motorcycles, and also (Harry had to admire Sirius's nerve) several posters of bikini-clad Muggle girls.**

Fred and George snickered, but were immediately silenced by not only Mrs. Weasley but Ginny.

"That's very rude," said Fleur.

"It's brilliant. Mum, I think George and I are going to take some decorating advice from Sirius."

"You'll do no such thing!"

**Harry could tell that they were Muggles because they remained quite stationary within their pictures, faded smiles and glazed eyes frozen on the paper. This was in contrast the only Wizarding photograph on the walls, which was a picture of four Hogwarts students standing arm in arm, laughing at the camera. With a leap of pleasure, Harry recognized his father, his untidy black hair stuck up at the back like Harry's, and he too wore glasses.**

Remus smiled at the thought of his friend.

**Beside him was Sirius, carelessly handsome, his slightly arrogant face so much younger and happier than Harry had ever seen it alive.**

He frowned at the veracity of the statement. Azkaban had taken such a strong toll on Sirius. Remus thought that they never truly got the same man back after he escaped.

**To Sirius's right stood Pettigrew, **

"I will never get over the fact that I housed that man for so many years," Mr. Weasley shuddered. After Dumbledore had explained the situation to Molly and him, they both felt dirty. Molly spend three days cleaning Ron's bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Tonks whispered to Remus, knowing how much hatred he harbored for that rat.

Remus just clenched his teeth and nodded.

**more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much admired rebels that James and Sirius had been. On James's left was Lupin, even then a little shabby-looking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included or was it simply because Harry knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture? He tried to take it from the wall; it was his now, after all, Sirius had left him everything, but it would not budge. Sirius had taken no chances in preventing his parents from redecorating his room.**

**Harry looked around at the floor. The sky outside was growing brightest. A shaft of light revealed bits of paper, books, and small objects scattered over the Sirius's bedroom had been reached too, although its contents seemed to have been judged mostly, if not entirely, worthless. A few of the books had been shaken roughly enough to part-company with the covers and sundry pages littered the floor. **

**Harry bent down, picked up a few of the pieces of paper, and examined them. He recognized one as a part of an old edition of A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot, and another as belonging to a motorcycle maintenance manual. The third was handwritten and crumpled. He smoothed it out.**

**Dear Padfoot,**

**Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present!**

"George, tell us who wrote this letter!" Mrs. Weasley said.

He skimmed down and said, "Lily Potter."

Remus perked up at her name, he'd been very close to Lily and missed her very dearly.

"This'll make Harry happy. It's a weird kind of happy, but it's still happy," Ginny said.

"I wonder how Harry will feel about this. It almost seems wrong to read his thoughts now," Mrs. Weasley said, frowning.

"Not much we can do about it," Bill pointed out.

**It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself. I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Of course James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going. **

Ginny smiled, thinking of all the one-on-one matches they'd had together while they'd dated. He was the first boy to not let her win and played her equally. He was an extraordinary player, and she had enjoyed her view from behind very much.

**We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on Harry. We were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway!**

**James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell – also Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions. If you could visit, it would cheer him up so much. Wormy was here last weekend. I thought he seemed down, but that was probably the next about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard.**

"Oh, we did, too. It was just horrible," Mr. Weasley said, "everyone liked the McKinnons."

** Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore. I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually because it seems incredible that Dumbledore –**

"The letter ends here," George clarified before continuing.

**Harry's extremities seemed to have gone numb. He stood quite still, holding the miraculous paper in his nerveless fingers while inside him a kind of quiet eruptions sent joy and grief thundering its equal measure through his veins.**

Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly. It pained her that he had suffered so young, but his parents were still around, watching him. She just knew it.

**Lurching to the bed, he sat down. He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her "g"s the same way he did. He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son. **

"She loved you more than anything, Harry," said Remus morosely.

**Impatiently brushing away the wetness in his eyes, he reread the letter, this time concentrating on the meaning. It was like listening to a half-remembered voice.**

**They had a cat… perhaps it had perished, like his parents at Godric's Hollow… or else fled when there was nobody left to feed it… Sirius had bought him his first broomstick… His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak… there was something funny there…**

**Harry paused, pondering his mother's words. Why had Dumbledore taken James's Invisibility Cloak? Harry distinctly remembered his headmaster telling him years before, "I don't need a cloak to become invisible" Perhaps some less gifted Order member had needed its assistance, and Dumbledore had acted as a carrier?**

"Now that's strange," Tonks said to Remus.

**Harry passed on… **

**Wormy was here… Pettigrew, the traitor, had seemed "down" had he? Was he aware that he was seeing James and Lily alive for the last time?**

Remus growled, which startled Fleur. Bill put his arms around her shoulders, while Tonks did the same to her husband.

**And finally Bathilda again, who told incredible stories about Dumbledore. It seems incredible that Dumbledore -**

**That Dumbledore what? But there were any number of things that would seem incredible about Dumbledore; that he had once received bottom marks in aTransfiguration test, for instance or had taken up goat charming like Aberforth…**

**Harry got to his feet and scanned the floor: Perhaps the rest of the letter was here somewhere. He seized papers, treating them in his eagerness, with as little consideration as the original searcher, he pulled open drawers, shook out books, stood on a chair to run his hand over the top of the wardrobe, and crawled under the bed and armchair.**

**At last, lying facedown on the floor, he spotted what looked like a torn piece of paper under the chest of drawers. When he pulled it out, it proved to be most of the photograph that Lily had described in her letter. A black-haired baby was zooming in and out of the picture on a tiny broom, roaring with laughter, and a pair of legs that must have belonged to James was chasing after him. Harry tucked the photograph into his pocket with Lily's letter and continued to look for the second sheet.**

"I bet Harry was a cute baby! I want to see that picture," Ginny huffed.

"Oh, he was. He hardly ever cried. He was so attentive, too. He followed conversations and had a good sense of character. He was brilliant. Smart as hell, too," said Remus. He smiled at all the memories of young Harry. He really had been such a good baby. A bit reckless, but smart.

"Do you have any pictures?" Fleur asked.

"I'll bring some over when we take a break," he promised.

The girls all brightened at that thought, while Bill and the twins felt bad for Harry. Baby photos were the epitome of embarrassment.

**After another quarter of an hour, however he was forced to conclude that the rest of his mother's letter was gone. Had it simply been lost in the sixteen years that had elapsed since it had been written, or had it been taken by whoever had searched the room? Harry read the first sheet again, this time looking for clues as to what might have made the second sheet valuable. His toy broomstick could hardly be considered interesting to the Death Eaters… The only potentially useful thing he could see her was possible information on Dumbledore. It seems incredible that Dumbledore – what?**

"**Harry? Harry? Harry!"**

"**I'm here!" he called, "What's happened?"**

**There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Hermione burst inside.**

"**We woke up and didn't know where you were!" she said breathlessly. She turned and shouted over her shoulder, "Ron! I've found him"**

**Ron's annoyed voice echoed distantly from several floors below.**

"**Good! Tell him from me he's a git!"**

"**Harry don't just disappear, please, we were terrified! Why did you come up here anyway?" She gazed around the ransacked room. "What have you been doing?"**

"Called it!" George said, jumping up from his seat.

"**Look what I've just found"**

**He held out his mother's letter. Hermione took it out and read it while Harry watched her. When she reached the end of the page she looked up at him.**

"**Oh Harry…"**

"**And there's this too"**

**He handed her the torn photograph, and Hermione smiled at the baby zooming in and out of sight on the toy broom.**

"**I've been looking for the rest of the letter," Harry said, "but it's not here."**

**Hermione glanced around.**

"**Did you make all this mess, or was some of it done when you got here?"**

"**Someone had searched before me," said Harry.**

"**I thought so. Every room I looked into on the way up had been disturbed. What were they after, do you think?"**

**"Information on the Order, if it was Snape."**

"I doubt it was Snape," said Bill, "he was a member, he didn't need to go looking for anything."

**"But you'd think he'd already have all he needed. I mean was in the Order, wasn't he?"**

"**Well then," said Harry, keen to discuss his theory, "what about information on Dumbledore? The second page of the letter, for instance. You know this Bathilda my mum mentions, you know who she is?"**

"**Who?"**

"**Bathilda Bagshot, the author of –"**

"**A History of Magic," said Hermione, looking interested. "So your parents knew her? She was an incredible magic historian."**

"**And she's still alive," said Harry, "and she lives in Godric's Hollow. Ron's** **Auntie Muriel was talking about her at the wedding. She knew Dumbledore's family too. Be pretty interesting to talk to, wouldn't she?"**

**There was a little too much understanding in the smile Hermione gave him for Harry's liking. He took back the letter and the photograph and tucked them inside the pouch around his neck, so as not to have to look at her and give himself away.**

"**I understand why you'd love to talk to her about your mum and dad, and Dumbledore too," said Hermione. "But that wouldn't really help us in our search for the Horcruxes, would it?" Harry did not answer, and she rushed on, "Harry, I know you really want to go to Godric's Hollow, but I'm scared. I'm scared at how easily those Death Eaters found us yesterday. It just makes me feel more than ever that we ought to avoid the place where your parents are buried, I'm sure they'd be expecting you to visit it."**

"I agree with her, but I'm not happy about it," said Ginny.

"I don't see why they can't disguise themselves and go visit. It'll make him happy. There could be answers waiting there. Who knows, maybe it'll be worthwhile," said Fred.

"It's risky. Hermione's right. It would be too predictable," said Tonks.

**"It's not just that," Harry said, still avoiding looking at her, "Muriel said stuff about Dumbledore at the wedding. I want to know the truth…"**

**He told Hermione everything that Muriel had told him. When he had finished,** **Hermione said, "Of course, I can see why that's upset you, Harry –"**

"**I'm not upset," he lied, "I'd just like to know whether or not it's true or –"**

"**Harry do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!"**

"**I thought I did," he muttered.**

"I have a feeling Harry will struggle with this for a while," said Tonks.

"Oh, he will," said Ginny, "I know him and he definitely spends too much time thinking."

"**But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you!** **Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?"**

**He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again:** **Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it?**

Mrs. Weasley flinched at this. She had always stood by her belief on not telling any of the underage children anything, but now she saw how much that had hurt him in the end.

"**Shall we go down to the kitchen?" Hermione suggested after a little pause. "Find something for breakfast?"**

**He agreed, but grudgingly, and followed her out onto the landing and past the second door that led off it. There were deep scratch marks in the paintwork below a small sign that he had not noticed in the dark. He passed at the top of the stairs to read it. It was a pompous little sign, neatly lettered by hand the sort of thing that Percy Weasley might have stuck on his bedroom door.**

**Do Not Enter**

**Without the Express Permission of**

**Regulus Arcturus Black**

**Excitement trickled through Harry, but he was not immediately sure why.**

"Why would Sirius' brother make Harry excited?" Fred wondered, then chuckled at the wording.

**He read the sign again. Hermione was already a flight of stairs below him.**

"**Hermione," he said, and he was surprised that his voice was so calm. "Come back up here."**

"**What's the matter?"**

"**R.A.B. I think I've found him."**

**There was a gasp, and then Hermione ran back up the stairs.**

"**In your mum's letter? But I didn't see –"**

**Harry shook his head, pointing at Regulus' sign. She read it, then clutched** **Harry's arm so tightly that he winced.**

"**Sirius's brother?" she whispered.**

"**He was a Death Eater," said Harry. "Sirius told me about him, he joined up when he was really young and then got cold feet and tried to leave – so they killed him."**

"Regulus was such a quiet person. I bet he'd hoped he could silently back out and not be noticed," Remus said.

"Yeah, that doesn't really happen with Voldemort," said Bill.

"Yeah, not really."

"**That fits!" gasped Hermione. "If he was a Death Eater he had access to** **Voldemort, and if he became disenchanted, then he would have wanted to bring Voldemort down!"**

**She released Harry, leaned over the banister, and screamed, "Ron! RON! Get up here, quick!"**

**Ron appeared, panting, a minute later, his wand ready in his hand.**

"**What's up? If it's massive spiders again I want breakfast before I –"**

The twins started laughing hysterically. That spider fear was still going strong.

**He frowned at the sign on Regulus' door, in which Hermione was silently pointing.**

"**What? That was Sirius's brother, wasn't it? Regulus Arcturus … Regulus …** **R.A.B.! The locket – you don't reckon - ?"**

"Locket?" the whole room questioned.

"Maybe they have an idea where the Horcrux is?" said Mr. Weasley.

"That'd be really nice," said Fleur.

"**Let's find out," said Harry. He pushed the door: It was locked. Hermione pointed her wand at the handle and said, "Alohamora." There was a click, and the door swung open. **

**They moved over the threshold together, gazing around. Regulus' bedroom was slightly smaller than Sirius's, though it had the same sense of former grandeur. Whereas Sirius had sought to advertise his diffidence from the rest of the family, Regulus had striven to emphasize the opposite. The Slytherin colors of emerald and silver were everywhere, draping the bed, the walls, and the windows. The Black family crest was painstakingly painted over the bed, along with its motto, TOUJOURS PUR. Beneath this was a collection of yellow newspaper cuttings, all stuck together to make a ragged collage. Hermione crossed the room to examine them.**

"**They're all about Voldemort," she said. "Regulus seems to have been a fan for a few years before he joined the Death Eaters …"**

**A little puff of dust rose from the bedcovers as she sat down to read the clippings.** **Harry, meanwhile, had noticed another photograph: a Hogwarts Quidditch team was smiling and waving out of the frame. He moved closer and saw the snakes emblazoned on their chests: Slytherins. Regulus was instantly recognizable as the boy sitting in the middle of the front row: He had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller, slighter, and rather less handsome than Sirius had been.**

"**He played Seeker," said Harry.**

"**What?" said Hermione vaguely; she was still immersed in Voldemort's press clippings.**

"**He's sitting in the middle of the front row, that's where the Seeker … Never mind," said Harry, realizing that nobody was listening. Ron was on his hands and knees, searching under the wardrobe. Harry looked around the room for likely hiding places and approached the desk. Yet again, somebody had searched before them. The drawers' contents had been turned over recently, the dust disturbed, but there was nothing of value there: old quills, out-of-date textbooks that bore evidence of being roughly handled, a recently smashed ink bottle, its sticky residue covering the contents of the drawer.**

"**There's an easier way," said Hermione, as Harry wiped his inky fingers on his jeans. She raised her wand and said, "Accio Locket!"**

**Nothing happened. Ron, who had been searching the folds of the faded curtains, looked disappointed.**

"**Is that it, then? It's not here?"**

"**Oh, it could still be here, but under counter-enchantments," said Hermione.** "**Charms to prevent it from being summoned magically, you know."**

"**Like Voldemort put on the stone basin in the cave," said Harry, remembering how he had been unable to Summon the fake locket.**

"I guess they have a fake, then? Regulus made a fake when he tried to leave the Death Eaters? But why would Voldemort have him keep watch of his soul?" Tonks said, confused.

"Maybe he was so quiet and unimportant, Voldemort thought that no one would suspect him?" said Bill, frowning.

"Maybe it'll be explained later."

"**How are we supposed to find it then?" asked Ron.**

"**We search manually," said Hermione.**

"**That's a good idea," said Ron, rolling his eyes, and he resumed his examination** **of the curtains.**

**They combed every inch of the room for more than an hour, but were forced, finally, to conclude that the locket was not there.**

**The sun had risen now; its light dazzled them even through the grimy landing windows.**

"**It could be somewhere else in the house, though," said Hermione in a rallying tone as they walked back downstairs. As Harry and Ron had become more discouraged, she seemed to have become more determined. "Whether he'd manage to destroy it or not, he'd want to keep it hidden from Voldemort, wouldn't he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robes that tried to strangle Ron; Regulus might have put them there to protect the locket's hiding place, even though we didn't realize it at … at … "**

**Harry and Ron looked at her. She was standing with one foot in midair, with the dumbstruck look of one who had just been Obliviated: her eyes had even drifted out of focus.**

"… **at the time," she finished in a whisper.**

"**Something wrong?" asked Ron.**

"**There was a locket."**

"**What?" said Harry and Ron together.**

"**In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we … we … "**

The twins and Ginny instantly remembered what she was talking about.

"OH MY GOD I WAS HOLDING VOLDEMORT'S SOUL THAT'S SO GROSS!" Ginny said, disgusted.

"I can't believe it was right there, the whole time!" George said.

"Where is it now, is the bigger problem," said Bill.

"Maybe Kreacher took it?" said Mrs. Weasley.

"The chapter's called 'Kreacher's Tale'! He probably knows," said Ginny, excited.

**Harry felt as though a brick had slid down through his chest into his stomach. He remembered. He had even handled the thing as they passed it around, each trying in turn to pry it open. It had been tossed into a sack of rubbish, along with the snuffbox of Wartcap powder and the music box that had made everyone sleepy …**

"**Kreacher nicked loads of things back from us," said Harry. It was the only chance, the only slender hope left to them, and he was going to cling to it until forced to let go. "He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C'mon."**

**He ran down the stairs taking two steps at a time, the other two thundering along in his wake. They made so much noise that they woke the portrait of Sirius's mother as they passed through the hall. "Filth! Mudbloods! Scum!" she screamed after them as they dashed down into the basement kitchen and slammed the door behind them. Harry ran the length of the room, skidded to a halt at the door of Kreacher's cupboard, and wrenched it open. There was the nest of dirty old blankets in which the house-elf had once slept, but they were not longer glittering with the trinkets Kreacher had salvaged. The only thing there was an old copy of Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. Refusing to believe his eyes, Harry snatched up the blankets and shook them. A dead mouse fell out and rolled dismally across the floor. Ron groaned as he threw himself into a kitchen chair; Hermione closed her eyes.**

**"It's not over yet," said Harry, and he raised his voice and called, "Kreacher!"**

**There was a loud crack and the house elf that Harry had so reluctantly inherited from Sirius appeared out of nowhere in front of the cold and empty fireplace: tiny, half human-sized, his pale skin hanging off him in folds, white hair sprouting copiously from his bat like ears. He was still wearing the filthy rag in which they had first met him, and the contemptuous look he bent upon Harry showed that his attitude to his change of ownership had altered no more than his outfit.**

**"Master," croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog's voice, and he bowed low; muttering to his knees, "back in my Mistress's old house with the blood-traitor Weasley and the Mudblood –"**

"**I forbid you to call anyone 'blood traitor' or 'Mudblood,'" growled Harry.**

"Thank you, Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley. She truly hated that word, even if she wasn't a Muggleborn.

**He would have found Kreacher, with his snout like nose and bloodshot eyes, a distinctively unlovable object even if the elf had not betrayed Sirius to Voldemort.**

**"I've got a question for you," said Harry, his heart beating rather fast as he looked down at the elf, "and I order you to answer it truthfully. Understand?"**

"**Yes, Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again. Harry saw his lips moving soundlessly, undoubtedly framing the insults he was now forbidden to utter.**

"**Two years ago," said Harry, his heart now hammering against his ribs, "there was a big gold locket in the drawing room upstairs. We threw it out. Did you steal it back?"**

**There was a moment's silence, during which Kreacher straightened up to look** **Harry full in the face. Then he said, "Yes."**

"Sweet!" said Fred.

"**Where is it now?" asked Harry jubilantly as Ron and Hermione looked gleeful.** **Kreacher closed his eyes as though he could not bear to see their reactions to his next word.**

"**Gone."**

"**Gone?" echoed Harry, elation floating out of him, "What do you mean, it's gone?"**

**The elf shivered. He swayed.**

"**Kreacher," said Harry fiercely, "I order you –"**

"**Mundungus Fletcher," croaked the elf, his eyes still tight shut. "Mundungus** **Fletcher stole it all; Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's pictures, my Mistress's gloves, the** **Order of Merlin, First Class, the goblets with the family crest, and – and – "**

"Ugh, Mundungus," said Fleur. She was not a fan of that smelly, slippery criminal. Mrs. Weasley nodded, she had never forgiven him for leaving Harry to be attacked by those Dementors.

**Kreacher was gulping for air: His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.**

"— **and the locket, Master Regulus' locket. Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders!"**

"That elf's going to hurt himself!" Tonks said, "Harry needs to hold him down."

**Harry reacted instinctively: As Kreacher lunged for the poker standing in the grate, he launched himself upon the elf, flattening him. Hermione's scream mingled with Kreacher's but Harry bellowed louder than both of them: "Kreacher, I order you to stay still!"**

**He felt the elf freeze and released him. Kreacher lay flat on the cold stone floor, tears gushing from his sagging eyes.**

"**Harry, let him up!" Hermione whispered.**

"**So he can beat himself up with the poker?" snorted Harry, kneeling beside the elf.** "**I don't think so. Right. Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"**

"**Kreacher saw him!" gasped the elf as tears poured over his snout and into his mouth full of graying teeth. "Kreacher saw him coming out of Kreacher's cupboard with his hands full of Kreacher's treasures. Kreacher told the sneak thief to stop, but Mundungus Fletcher laughed and r-ran … "**

"**You called the locket 'Master Regulus's,'" said Harry. "Why? Where did it come from? What did Regulus have to do with it? Kreacher, sit up and tell me everything you know about that locket, and everything Regulus had to do with it!"**

**The elf sat up, curled into a ball, placed his wet face between his knees, and began to rock backward and forward. When he spoke, his voice was muffled but quite distinct in the silent, echoing kitchen.**

"**Master Sirius ran away, good riddance, for he was a bad boy and broke my Mistress's heart with his lawless ways. But Master Regulus had proper order; he knew what was due to the name of Black and the dignity of his pure blood. For years he talked of the Dark Lord, who was going to bring the wizards out of hiding to rule the Muggles and the Muggle-borns … and when he was sixteen years old, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. So proud, so proud, so happy to serve …** **And one day, a year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said … he said …"**

**The old elf rocked faster than ever.**

" … **he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."**

"What?" the whole room said in unison.

**"Voldemort needed an elf?" Harry repeated, looking around at Ron and Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he did.**

"**Oh yes," moaned Kreacher. "And Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honor, said Master Regulus, an honor for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do … and then to c-come home."**

**Kreacher rocked still faster, his breath coming in sobs.**

"**So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, but took Kreacher with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake … "**

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up. Kreacher's croaking voice seemed to come to him from across the dark water. He saw what had happened as clearly as though he had been present.**

" … **There was a boat … "**

**Of course there had been a boat; Harry knew the boat, ghostly green and tiny, bewitched so as to carry one wizard and one victim toward the island in the center. This, then, was how Voldemort had tested the defenses surrounding the Horcrux, by borrowing a disposable creature, a house-elf…**

Fleur and Ginny looked sick.

"That's so wrong," Ginny whispered. House elves were innocent, kind creatures. They weren't supposed to be disposable.

"**There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made** **Kreacher drink it …"**

**The elf quaked from head to foot.**

"**Kreacher drank, and as he drank he saw terrible thing … Kreacher's insides burned … Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed … He made Kreacher drink all the potion … He dropped a locket into the empty basin … He filled it with more potion."**

"**And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island … "**

Even though Ginny wasn't a fan of Kreacher, she pitied him right now. She almost wanted to cry at the cruelty. She was thankful Charlie wasn't here, he'd probably be weeping.

**Harry could see it happening. He watched Voldemort's white, snakelike face vanishing into darkness, those red eyes fixed pitilessly on the thrashing elf whose death would occur within minutes, whenever he succumbed to the desperate thirst that the burning poison caused its victim … But here, Harry's imagination could go no further, for he could not see how Kreacher had escaped.**

"He's seen too much," cried Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He agreed with her, of course. Harry was so young, but so old at the same time.

"**Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake … and hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface … "**

"**How did you get away?" Harry asked, and he was not surprised to hear himself whispering.**

**Kreacher raised his ugly head and looked Harry with his great, bloodshot eyes.**

"**Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he said.**

"**I know – but how did you escape the Inferi?"**

"Really, Harry?" Fred laughed.

**Kreacher did not seem to understand.**

"**Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he repeated.**

"**I know, but – "**

"**Well, it's obvious, isn't it, Harry?" said Ron. "He Disapparated!"**

"**But … you couldn't Apparate in and out of that cave," said Harry, "otherwise** **Dumbledore – "**

"**Elf magic isn't like wizard's magic, is it?" said Ron, "I mean, they can Apparate and Disapparate in and out of Hogwarts when we can't."**

**There was a silence as Harry digested this. How could Voldemort have made such a mistake? But even as he thought this, Hermione spoke, and her voice was icy.**

"**Of course, Voldemort would have considered the ways of house-elves far beneath his notice … it would never have occurred to him that they might have magic that he didn't."**

"She understands Voldemort too well," Tonks said.

"She's a smart one," Bill agreed, "But it's a bit scary."

"**The house-elf's highest law is his Master's bidding," intoned Kreacher.**

"**Kreacher was told to come home, so Kreacher came home … "**

"**Well, then, you did what you were told, didn't you?" said Hermione kindly.** "**You didn't disobey orders at all!"**

**Kreacher shook his head, rocking as fast as ever.**

"**So what happened when you got back?" Harry asked. "What did Regulus say when you told him what happened?"**

"**Master Regulus was very worried, very worried," croaked Kreacher. "Master** **Regulus told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then … it was a little while later … Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard one night, and Master Regulus was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Kreacher could tell … and he asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord … "**

**And so they had set off. Harry could visualize them quite clearly, the frightened old elf and the thin, dark Seeker who had so resembled Sirius … Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat: this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison …**

"**And he made you drink the poison?" said Harry, disgusted.**

**But Kreacher shook his head and wept. Hermione's hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something.**

"**M-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had," said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snout like nose. "And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets …"**

"Regulus saved us all," gasped Remus, "he's just saved us all and no one ever knew it."

He felt regret at how poorly Sirius had treated his brother.

**Kreacher's sobs came in great rasps now; Harry had to concentrate hard to understand him.**

"**And he order – Kreacher to leave – without him. And he told Kreacher – to go home – and never to tell my Mistress – what he had done – but to destroy – the first locket. And he drank – all the potion – and Kreacher swapped the lockets – and watched … as Master Regulus … was dragged beneath the water … and … "**

"**Oh, Kreacher!" wailed Hermione, who was crying. She dropped to her knees beside the elf and tried to hug him. At once he was on his feet, cringing away from her, quite obviously repulsed.**

"**The Mudblood touched Kreacher, he will not allow it, what would his Mistress say?"**

"**I told you not to call her 'Mudblood'!" snarled Harry, but the elf was already punishing himself. He fell to the ground and banged his forehead on the floor.**

"**Stop him – stop him!" Hermione cried. "Oh, don't you see now how sick it is, the way they've got to obey?"**

"She's right," Ginny whispered, "she's been telling us all along to be kind to Kreacher."

"She was right. It's just that no one knew what he'd been through," said Mrs. Weasley.

"**Kreacher – stop, stop!" shouted Harry.**

**The elf lay on the floor, panting and shivering, green mucus glistening around his snout, a bruise already blooming on his pallid forehead where he had struck himself, his eyes swollen and bloodshot and swimming in tears. Harry had never seen anything so pitiful.**

"**So you brought the locket home," he said relentlessly, for he was determined to know the full story. "And you tried to destroy it?"**

"**Nothing Kreacher did made any mark upon it," moaned the elf. "Kreacher tried everything, everything he knew, but nothing, nothing would work … So many powerful spells upon the casing, Kreacher was sure the way to destroy it was to get inside it, but it would not open … Kreacher punished himself, he tried again, he punished himself, he tried again. Kreacher failed to obey orders, Kreacher could not destroy the locket! And his mistress was mad with grief, because Master Regulus had disappeared and Kreacher could not tell her what had happened, no, because Master Regulus had f-f-forbidden him to tell any of the f-f-family what happened in the c-cave …"**

"This is so sad, I can't take this anymore!" Ginny said, frustrated at Kreacher's pain.

"It's not much longer," George said.

"Good."

**Kreacher began to sob so hard that there were no more coherent words. Tears flowed down Hermione's cheeks as she watched Kreacher, but she did not dare touch him again. Even Ron, who was no fan of Kreacher's, looked troubled. Harry sat back on his heels and shook his head, trying to clear it.**

"**I don't understand you, Kreacher," he said finally. "Voldemort tried to kill you,** **Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius toVoldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them …"**

"**Harry, Kreacher doesn't think like that," said Hermione, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. "He's a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn't that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He's loyal to people who are kind to him, and Mrs. Black must have been, and Regulus certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs. I know what you're going to say," she went on as Harry began to protest, "that Regulus changed his mind … but he doesn't seem to have explained that to Kreacher, does he?" And I think I know why. Kreacher and Regulus's family were all safest if they kept to the old pureblood line. Regulus was trying to protect them all."**

"**Sirius – "**

"**Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, Harry, and it's no good looking like that, you know it's true. Kreacher had been alone for such a long time when Sirius came to live here, and he was probably starving for a bit of affection. I'm sure 'Miss Cissy' and 'Miss Bella' were perfectly lovely to Kreacher when he turned up, so he did them a favor and told them everything they wanted to know. I've said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house-elves. Well, Voldemort did … and so did Sirius."**

"God, Hermione. I mean, you're right and all, but really, you didn't have to say that," said Ginny frowning.

"She's teaching us all a valuable lesson," said Mr. Weasley.

**Harry had no retort. As he watched Kreacher sobbing on the floor, he remembered what Dumbledore had said to him, mere hours after Sirius's death: I do not think Sirius ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human's …**

"**Kreacher," said Harry after a while, "when you feel up to it, er … please sit up."**

"Good try, Harrykinz," said Fred, encouragingly.

"Yes, Harrison, keep up the good work!" said George.

**It was several minutes before Kreacher hiccupped himself into silence. Then he pushed himself into a sitting position again, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes like a small child.**

"**Kreacher, I am going to ask you to do something," said Harry. He glanced at Hermione for assistance. He wanted to give the order kindly, but at the same time, he could not pretend that it was not an order. However, the change in his tone seemed to have gained her approval: She smiled encouragingly. **

"**Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket – where Master Regulus's locket it. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to – er – ensure that he didn't die in vain."**

**Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry.**

"**Find Mundungus Fletcher?" he croaked.**

"**And bring him here, to Grimmauld Place," said Harry. "Do you think you could do that for us?"**

**As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Hagrid's purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort.**

"**Kreacher, I'd, er, like you to have this," he said, pressing the locket into the elf's hand. "This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you—"**

**"Overkill, mate," said Ron as the elf took one look at the locket, let out a howl of shock and misery, and threw himself back onto the ground. It took them nearly half an hour to calm down Kreacher, who was so overcome to be presented with a Black family heirloom for his very own that he was too weak at the knees to stand properly.**

"Harry's such a good boy. Always thinking of others," sniffled Mrs. Weasley.

"I think we're going to see a change in Kreacher," said Bill, "it's much easier to fix a relationship with an elf than a goblin. Elves don't hold grudges, usually."

**When finally he was able to totter a few steps they all accompanied him to his cupboard, watched him tuck up the locket safely in his dirty blankets, and assured him that they would make its protection their first priority while he was away. He then made two low bows to Harry and Ron, and even gave a funny little spasm in Hermione's direction that might have been an attempt at a respectful salute, before Disapparating with the usual loud crack.**

"That's it!" George handed the book over to Bill.

"This is: The Bribe," he read.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

OMG thank you all so much for the great responses! 37 followers and over 300 viewers.

Also, a HUGE shoutout to the two wonderful people who commented: BellaTrixie007 and raissa20!

I appreciate it so much!

You all are great. Also, I have no beta, so all mistakes are my own. If one is so distracting that it deters from the story, please let me know!


End file.
